


Through the Looking Glass

by kaorusquee



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Fluff maybe?, I don't know what else to tag this, M/M, Modernish, Tokyo Ghoul AU, glassmaker!Uta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-13
Updated: 2014-08-13
Packaged: 2018-02-12 22:59:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2127645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaorusquee/pseuds/kaorusquee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Uta is a glassmaker and has a frequent window-watcher.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Through the Looking Glass

**Author's Note:**

> Apologies if I messed up on some things. I don't actually know how to make glass.

Through the Looking Glass

Amidst the shops, with their windows full of exotic merchandise, down a small cobblestone path, was a glassworks shop. It wasn’t that large, like the island factory across the waters was, but it was still one of Kaneki’s favorite places. Maybe it was because of how artful the pieces were. Or maybe it was the glass creator himself. 

By all rights, Kaneki should have been afraid of him, purely because of his looks. His hair was black, shaved on one side, long on the other. He had a myriad of piercings in his ears, one in his lip, and one in his eyebrow. His neck and arms were heavily tattooed, including his fingers, which ended in painted black nails. And his eyes were red. 

The first time those eyes had looked up and caught him watching, Kaneki has colored and fled. Those eyes could pierce his very soul, and he wasn’t sure he wanted that. 

But the more he kept coming back, the more he came to realize that the glassmaker, despite his appearance, was a gentle, caring person. It was visible in the pieces he created and in his interactions with the people that came inside his shop. 

Again and again Kaneki visited, watching the man work. He never went inside, but he began to feel very close to the male somehow. 

The glassmaker, Uta, had been fashioning a miniature dragon out of hot glass when he first became aware of his watcher. Looking up, he’d caught the male’s eye and smiled, watching as he promptly fled. But Uta didn’t mind. His appearance was usually the first thing people took in. A lot avoided him because of it. But his glass was quality, so those who wanted his work learned to look beneath his appearance to see the person below. The boy would be back… or not. 

He was inwardly pleased when he felt eyes watching him again. Uta enjoyed interacting with others and that the male had come back made him extremely happy. He slowly lifted his eyes. 

The male was looking at his newest piece, completed just yesterday. It was a phoenix, blown just right to catch and reflect light. Seeing the appreciation in those eyes warmed Uta. 

He took the time while the boy was distracted to examine him. Pale gray eyes under inky black hair. A blue hoodie that had seen better days rested on thin shoulders. A fading bruise under his left eye. 

Uta cocked his head. Had the black-haired male fallen? Or was it something else? He didn’t have time to examine further. The observer turned his head, flushing crimson when he caught the glassmaker’s eye. Like the last time, he vanished from view. 

It became a regular thing after that for Uta to look up and find the male watching him. Sometimes he’d run after being spotted. Sometimes he stayed. One time he even gave the glassmaker a shy wave and a smile. That was a treasured moment for Uta. 

Even though Kaneki never entered the shop, he felt like they had a sort of friendship established. He was no longer afraid of being caught watching and the glassmaker’s appearance didn’t bother him anymore. Nowadays he’d only run when he got too embarrassed by his own thoughts. Thoughts that were less than innocent about someone he’d never actually talked to. And scary for someone who’d never _had_ such thoughts before. 

Uta’s friendly neighborhood stalker was back. Good; he had a treat for him today. He worked slowly with the hot ball of glass at the end of his rod, wanting to get the details right. But he also worked quickly enough that it wouldn’t cool mid-sculpture. 

Kaneki watched the glass loop and twist, fascinated. Some sort of bird, he realized. Or two birds, as he saw another head form. “Swans.” He finally breathed. They were swans, facing each other, their heads touching and their necks forming what was unmistakably a heart. The glassmaker blew gently, and glittering color appeared inside their bodies. Once col enough to touch, the male held it on his palm and looked at Kaneki. 

Heat flared all over Kaneki’s body as he looked at the small statue and the emotion in the dark depths of those eyes. Blushing hard, he fled. 

Uta sighed, setting the swan statue down. Maybe that had been a premature gesture. He’d been hoping it would entice the male inside, but he supposed he’d read the situation wrong. Ah well. He’d try to apologize when the boy appeared next. 

Except his black-haired watcher didn’t return. Day after day Uta would look up, hoping to find gray eyes watching him. But there was nothing. As time progressed, Uta came to the sad realization that he’d scared the male away. 

Many months had passed since he’d last seen his watcher. Uta no longer hoped he’d come back. It had just been too soon, he surmised. 

He was working on a piece he’d dreamt up the night before when he heard a soft tap on the front window. Looking up, he met gray eyes. 

It was obvious the male had gone through a lot in the time since Uta’d last seen him. His once black hair was now an almost translucent white. His face was lined with hardship and those eyes were now cool and calculating. And there appeared to be more muscle under his clothes. Uta blinked slowly, and then motioned the male to come inside. 

Kaneki had not planned on interacting with the glassmaker. But the piece the male was working on had spoken to him. It was a tumbler, with four tentacle-like strands swirling around it. As he’d watched, shimmering red strands had been blown into the strands. Because the piece had spoken to him, he’d tapped on the window. 

He was wary as he entered, but he still couldn’t help expressing awe. Always content to look through the window, he hadn’t seen the wonders the shop held. A giant rearing pegasus greeted people as they came in. It was made of light green glass, its wings spread for flight. The details in the feathers were exquisite. “Y… you made…” 

“One of my finest works.” The glassmaker replied in a quiet voice. Blinking at Kaneki, he held out his hand, palm up. 

Kaneki stared at the hand for a long minute before placing his own on top of it. 

With gentle fingers, Uta slid back one of the male’s sleeves, exploring the arm underneath. The calloused pads of his fingers found the healing wounds and scars hidden under concealer. “Who did this to you?” 

Something flickered in the gray eyes. Something deadly. “It’s been dealt with.” 

“Good.” He let the male’s hand go. “I’m Uta.” 

“Uta of the exotic eyes.” 

“Ah.” Uta chuckled. “I had a pretty severe accident that claimed one of my eyes. I use sclera contacts to hide it.” He carefully removed one of the contacts, allowing Kaneki a glimpse of what lay below. “I learned customers could tolerate strange contacts better than a ruined eye.” He put the contact back in, blinking a few times. 

They had both seen hardships, Kaneki realized. He took a deep breath. “I’m Kaneki Ken.” 

“Kaneki-kun.” Uta repeated, and Kaneki found himself shivering at the glassmaker’s tone. 

He tried to shake it off by looking around, smiling slightly at a clear glass pelican with a bright orange fish in its bill. “Do all glassmakers look like you?” 

“Hmm? Oh, you mean the tattoos. Some of them do. Most of my tattoos are purely decorative, to hide what lies beneath.” Holding out his arms, he watched Kaneki’s eyes n arrow, sure he was seeing the scars beneath. 

“Uta-san, you hide a lot about yourself, don’t you?” 

The glassmaker didn’t know how to respond to that so he3 kept quiet, watching Kaneki move slowly through the shop. 

When Kaneki got to the piece Uta had been working on, he reached out a hand and caressed it gently. It was still warm. “What are the red things?” 

“Just something I’ve seen in my dreams. Tentacles from an octopus maybe. But I only ever see four. I have a bigger example downstairs, if you’d like to see it.” 

The gray eyes turned to look at the glassmaker, silently considering him. “I would.” 

Uta locked the front door, hanging up a sign that said he’d be back in an hour. Then he led Kaneki down a set of stairs. “Down here is where I make the bigger pieces.” He explained. “Some can take months or even years to complete.” 

Kaneki forgot everything else when he stepped off the last stair. There were a myriad of glass tumblers and bowls and other things, set in shelves on the walls. But that wasn’t what caught his attention. In the center of the room was a life-size glass sculpture. A faceless male, made of entirely clear glass. From his back sprang four blood-red tentacles. 

It was the most amazing thing Kaneki had ever seen, even better than the pegasus upstairs. Moving slowly, the male lifted a hand and stroked one red appendage. “Who is he?” 

“I don’t know. I dreamt him up a long time ago and had to create it. He stays down here because I don’t want to place a price on him.” The glassmaker paused. “His hair kind of reminds me of you.” 

Kaneki gave the sculpture another considering look. “What happened to the swans?” 

“Swans?” Uta repeated. “Oh! I kept them. I didn’t feel right selling them since I made them for you. They’re in a box on the shelf over there.” 

Stepping away from the statue, Kaneki looked up into the glassmaker’s eyes. “Uta-san, I am not the same person anymore. That boy is lost.” 

Reaching out a hand Uta touched Kaneki’s cheek, watching those gray eyes flicker. It was brief, a momentary look of anger and distrust. Someone had really done a number on him. “Then let me get to know the current Kaneki. Allow me to show you that not everyone is bad and out to hurt you.” 

Kaneki sighed. “I… don’t know how.” His hand came up to grip Uta’s. 

“We start simple and slow. Stay in the shop today and watch me work. Personality shapes glass. Watching me create things will tell you more about me than anything I can say.” 

The male thought about Uta’s creations. Surely someone who cared that much about glass wouldn’t hurt him. He favored the glassmaker with the smallest of smiles. “Okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone is curious, this is based on a real place. Many years ago, I visited Venice. There _is_ a large glass factory across the canal, and a smaller one on the mainland. Inside the glass shop, the pegasus sits. Tumblers and other glass things really do stay downstairs, and each is a work of art. As for the pelican with the fish in its bill? You can find them in all sorts of colors. Venetian glass is truly remarkable.


End file.
